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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25418326">Storm Cloud</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowy_TheatreKid/pseuds/Snowy_TheatreKid'>Snowy_TheatreKid</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>1776 (1972), 1776 - Edwards/Stone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Era, M/M, Rain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:48:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,527</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25418326</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowy_TheatreKid/pseuds/Snowy_TheatreKid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The progression of Roger and John's relationship.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Roger Sherman/John Witherspoon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Storm Cloud</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Roger watched alongside the other members of the Declaration committee as Adams and Jefferson went their separate ways. The mentioned man turned and looked at Franklin and Livingston, breathing a sigh of relief. The others seemed to share this sigh as they looked at one another, not quite sure what to do after that display. Still a little bewildered from being berated by the small man, Roger wordlessly left. The other men followed suit and they all went their separate ways to engage in their lives outside Congress. However, Roger was not able to leave the premise of the building before he was stopped. </p>
<p>	“Excuse me, but, could I speak with you?.” A familiar but not quite known tall man stood in his way. He seemed quite nervous and eagerly waited for some sort of reply. Roger just nodded, hoping to get out of the building before someone tried to get him to write some complicated document again. The man, John something, perked up and began speaking once again. “I’ve been looking for someone to help me for awhile. I tried asking around but everyone either left or was too busy to help until finally-,” </p>
<p>“Pardon me for asking, but what exactly do you need?” His impatience started to impair his perception of manners as he somewhat harshly broke into the other’s rant. The man would have kept going if Roger had not taken action. </p>
<p>“Oh, Did I fail to mention that? I need someone to help me find this address. I just got here and busied myself with finding this hall here that I didn’t find where I would be staying.” The man explained himself and held up a piece of paper with some small scribbles on it. Roger felt himself deflate a little, he would be forced into doing something after all. It could be worse. </p>
<p>“Alright, can I see the paper, Mr...” He trailed off and looked to the other man, expecting him to finish the thought. </p>
<p>“Reverend John Witherspoon.” John moved the paper in between the two for Roger to promptly pluck out of his hand. </p>
<p>“Roger Sherman.” The smaller man replied before examining the paper, trying to make out the small writing. Out of his peripheral view, Roger saw the other man give a small smile that he vaguely categorized as cute before promptly sweeping the thought into non-existence. “I recognize this address, I can take you there if you like?” Roger immediately did not know why he offered to go with the man. He presumed it was because he did not seem as bad as the other noisy characters in Congress, but now he was stuck with what he said. Anxieties that appeared due to his offer seemed to disappear when he saw the joy pop into the reverend’s eyes. </p>
<p>“Okay, lead the way, Mr. Sherman.” John stood attentive, ready to follow the other wherever he went. Roger ignored how his knees got a little weak and pushed his legs to move. </p>
<p>The two walked side by side down the street as Roger attempted to regain control over his limbs and walk less rigidly. Trying to distract himself from any unwanted weird things going on in his brain, he looked around the street. Unfortunately, his eyes were drawn to the tall man beside him. One of the first things he notices is how close they are on the semi-crowded street. He can feel the heat radiating off of the other man’s arm but he pushes that observation away. He imagines something else, like a field of grass with butterflies. And a tree. Maybe a book is waiting under it. </p>
<p>All too suddenly, the sensation of John’s arm brushing against his broke him out of his mind which in turn caused him to physically jolt. John looks at him, but Roger avoids the other’s gaze by looking out at passing carriages. Trying to once again distract himself, He looks around to ascertain where they are and believes it is okay to keep going in the same direction. As their silent walk continues, Roger looks around at the different people on the street and muses himself with where they might be going. He does this for a while before his gaze once again falls on his fellow delegate. Roger finds it peculiar how the man’s long legs take small steps yet they are fast enough to keep up with the lively citizens of the city. He supposes that he should be thankful that he does not have to run to keep up with the other. Another action to note about John is his fidgeting. He might absentmindedly bring his hands together to timidly twirl about his sleeve or pick at the stitch work of the sleeve’s hem, yet, when he notices he jerks his hands apart in an almost violent manner.</p>
<p>Before Roger could ponder his acquaintance any longer, his eye was caught by the street’s surroundings and he noticed that the pair had made it to the location written on the paper. Roger turned to look at what should have been the correct building and stopped. John almost knocked into him but quickly landed in his place next to the other man. The silence between the two men grew a little uncomfortable, both waiting for the other to say something. </p>
<p>“This should be the place.” Roger spoke up, hesitantly meeting John’s eyes. </p>
<p>“Thank you very much, Mr. Sherman. I will see you tomorrow.” A twinkle in John’s eyes caught Roger off guard and his legs seemed to stay in place a moment more than he would have liked. Roger returned the sentiment and continued down the street to travel to his apartment. He was starting to not like the way he felt around this man.</p>
<p>--------------------------------------------</p>
<p>	Roger definitely did not like the way he felt around John Witherspoon. Whenever they had a short exchange or even so much as stood next to each other, Roger had to devote a surprising amount of energy to quelling his thoughts and feelings. The man’s way of moving and speaking always made an impression in his mind that seeped into his thoughts. There have been more nights than he would like to admit where sleep had escaped him in exchange for recalling John’s mannerisms. Roger’s mind raced with thoughts he would rather not have as he stared blankly into a book. A sharp stab into his unruly thoughts was a voice of his colleague who requested he look at something he didn’t quite catch. Happy for the distraction, he moved from his seat at the door to the table. </p>
<p>	Soon, Roger realized that the relocation would not cause his cacophony of thoughts to disappear. Instead, he could barely pay attention to what his fellow Connecticut delegate was saying. It definitely did not help that now he had a perfect view of his distraction. His eyes drifted to the spot where John was lying asleep. His long stature was spread out over three chairs and his hair was slightly falling out of place. Thoughts about further messing up the man’s hair slipped into his mind before being snapped out and replaced with desperate attempts to think about the parchment in front of him. </p>
<p>	It would be so easy to admire the sleeping man without the risk of tarnishing the man’s view of Roger. No, he had to focus on words. Think about ink and parchment and work. Think about books and people talking around him. Think about the voices rising with anger that filled the chamber. Surprisingly, Roger could not bring himself to care about the conflict riddling the room. His mind could not hold focus on anything but the sweet sleeping reverend in the corner. He faintly wished he had no emotions. </p>
<p>--------------------------------------------</p>
<p>	Rain dribbled from the sky in a light mist. The water had only just started to fall and Roger felt confident he could make it home before the condition got worse. His time out proved to consist of what his time at home contained, desperately fighting back thoughts of a certain delegate and attempting to hold outward normalcy. Roger reflected on the subject and subsequently pushed it from his mind, a weak pursuit to stamp out his subconscious obsession. </p>
<p>	Roger fell out of his brain when a particularly fat raindrop fell onto the tip of his nose. The amount of raindrops had increased but the sky had kept the same hazy blue color. The short man’s walk took on a more brisk pace to foolishly try to outrun the rain. There was only another block and he was home. Unfortunately, halfway through the next block the sky had darkened and grown angrier. The menacing face the sky had adopted made the false pretense that the raindrops would increase. This made Roger speed up his brisk pace to avoid water to further soak his coat. The sky lit up with a growl but the display did not urge Roger to sprint as self consciousness seeped into his mind. Luckily for him, his house was in view and he was able to shelter himself under the overhang of his roof. Unfortunately for him, he came face to face with someone very familiar. Roger had not calculated for someone to be standing under the small awning near his door, which led him to be so close to John Witherspoon he could feel the other man’s breath. The delayed reactions of the two men jumped into action causing both of them to separate. Roger looked out into the rain covered street and focused on expelling thoughts from his mind as well as pushing out the color that rushed to his cheeks. John stood tall and nervous, letting his hands fidget with his sleeves. When Roger deemed his mind clean, he turned back to the other man who jerked his hands away from one another. </p>
<p>	“Reverend Witherspoon.” Roger sputtered out, he paused for a moment to let his mind form coherent thoughts. “What are you doing here, in front of my house?” The nerves Roger worked so hard to suspend worked their way back and made his hands tremble. This situation seemed eerily similar to a fantasy his brain might accidentally make up and be forced to discard. </p>
<p>	“Your house?” The reverend seemed a little flustered at the circumstances the fates had aligned. “I returned from a meeting with the other New Jersey delegates when it started to rain.” A hard crack of thunder boomed in the street causing the taller of the two to jump closer to the building with his eyes wide and his arms wrapping around himself. After the momentary interruption, John looked back to Roger. He coughed into his hand, straightening himself out to how he was before. A light rose color dusted his cheeks and he looked everywhere but the other man’s face. “I, uh, did not think it was safe to go home in this weather. So, I thought I would take shelter here until the rain stopped. I apologize, I did not know it was your house.” Roger was now left to make the easy decision of whether to let the man who plagued his thoughts into his house or not. He would, of course, but he would do it cursing every God imaginable. </p>
<p>	“It’s alright, you can stay here until the rain thins.” Roger assured him, showing no sign of his discomfort. Yet, most of the negative emotions towards the decision dissolved when the expression of gratitude waltzed across John’s face. </p>
<p>	“Thank you, Mr. Sherman.” </p>
<p>	“Roger.” The smaller man did not realize he had spoken until he gained the attention of the other man. His eyes widened before he hastily expanded upon what he had said “you can call me Roger.” His cheeks reddened slightly, which he tried to hide by staring off into the street. The display evoked a quiet breath of amusement from John. </p>
<p>	“Alright.” He paused for a moment as the red faced man darted his eyes to his attention. “Roger.” Said man’s heart tweaked in a way that made him feel embarrassed to admit. So, he threw the thought away and moved on. </p>
<p>	“Why don’t we go inside now.” Roger nervously spoke more to himself than to John. He frantically dug in his pocket to find his keys, avoiding eye contact like his life depended on it. In contrast to the shorter man’s frazzled countenance, amusement comfortably rested on John’s face. </p>
<p>	Once the door was unlocked and open, both men walked inside. Roger kept his head down, most likely pushing away thoughts that dwelled on the fact a certain reverend was actually in his home. John on the other hand, took to looking around Roger’s apartment with a curiosity only comparable to a child. The house was cluttered but there was an energy that everything had its place. The apartment felt warm and homey, which was certainly welcomed in contrast to the somewhat terrifying storm outside. Although, it was a tad hard to take in the whole room when Roger looked so distressed while shutting the door. </p>
<p>	“You can put your coat over here.” Roger managed to squeak out while removing and placing his own coat on a coat rack in the corner. John did the same and the former man tried his hardest not to let his mind think about the taller man undressing in his home. He instead walked over to his couch and sat down, feigning that nothing was wrong. Sequentially, after John had removed his coat, he followed and sat on the couch next to Roger. The sound of rain tapping on the roof filled the room and saved the two men from suffering in complete silence. The room felt somewhat peaceful, but Roger was anything but at peace. John was sitting so close to him but he couldn’t quite feel the presence of his heat. A faint voice in his head told him to move closer but he sternly reprimanded it before noticing that it had been close to silent for too long. </p>
<p>“Do you, uh, want anything to drink?” The smaller man, who was internally imploding, managed to push out between his panicked thoughts. John looked at Roger, who shakily met his eyes. The smile gracing the taller man’s face quieted Roger’s running thoughts until they sounded like background noise. </p>
<p>“No, thank you.” John looked away from the other man and casted his gaze towards a nearby window. Despite him looking away, Roger’s eyes stayed on his companion. His mind felt relatively clear, so he let himself admire the other’s features like he found himself desperately wanting. The familiar light fidgeting John did with his sleeves was starting to become scarce, like he was calming down as well. Although his mind was rather mellow, Roger faintly felt his heart rate quicken. He tried his best to ignore everything and indulge in one of the few moments he could admire the reverend without feeling guilty. </p>
<p>	Unfortunately, Roger’s moment to relax in John’s presence was cut short due to a relatively loud crack of thunder. John physically jumped like he had done outside. His eyes were wide and his hands were protectively brought to his chest. The previously calm feeling the smaller man felt was replaced by distress. </p>
<p>“Are you alright?” Roger asked, his concern worked onto his face and he bravely placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder. John’s head whipped over to his companion’s face, fear plastered across his features. After a moment of tense air, the taller of the two relaxed and slowly looked back to the window. </p>
<p>“Yes, I’m fine.” John’s voice came out shaky, but he attempted to sit still to give the air that he was telling the truth. Roger removed his hand from the other’s shoulder and decided to not push the matter. He desperately wanted to know whether he was okay or not, but he wanted to give him space. </p>
<p>	Roger’s eyes lingered on his companion, looking to his hands he saw he was fidgeting with his sleeves, but this time he let himself anxiously fiddle with the fabric instead of stopping. It hurt his heart to know the other was in distress, but Roger was not going to force him. Instead, he looked out the window and thought about the rain. </p>
<p>Light struck the sky before another grumbling sound weaved into the air. John jumped yet again, practicing his same defense mechanisms. However, this time he wrapped his arms tightly around himself and squeezed his eyes shut. Roger’s eyes shot over to the other man. His concern grew and he slowly placed his hand on the other’s shoulder yet again. </p>
<p>“It’s alright.” Roger whispered, as if speaking too loudly would bring the same reaction. This gesture caused John to lighten his grip on himself and carefully open his eyes. He turned to look at the smaller man. </p>
<p>“Of course it is.” John croaked out, his words sounded like it was directed more to himself than to the other. His pathetic display did not convince his companion at all. </p>
<p>‘It is okay to not be okay. You can tell me if you’re afraid.” Roger continued to use his soft voice to quell the worries of the taller man. A couple beats of silence fell between the two as John averted his gaze to the floor. “Is it the thunder?” John looked back up at Roger and solemnly nodded. “It’s okay. I’m here to help.” To prove his point, Roger hesitantly moved the hand on John’s shoulder down to lightly pull the hand clenched around his arm and into the protection of Roger’s warm hand. John looked down at their hands and shakily smiled. The smaller man felt heat rise to his face but immediately combated his thoughts with the normalcy of comforting someone. As the minutes passed, John allowed himself to relax and release the tension in his joints. </p>
<p>Yet again, a shock of sound crackled in the sky, sending John into a frenzied fear once again. Instead of closing in on himself, John leaned against Roger, pushing his face into the other’s neck. For a moment, Roger sat still, his mind taking the content and playing with it before thoughts of protecting this man smashed any daydreams he could conjure up. His hands wrapped around the trembling man and gently rubbed his back. The two sat like that, Roger comforting John, until the thunder striked again. The two did not separate until the rain started to fade and the tapping on the roof subsided. </p>
<p>Slowly, John extracted himself from his place resting on the smaller man. Their faces were a little red, but the air around them breathed steady tranquility. </p>
<p>“I..should be on my way.” John bashfully looked off to some interesting corner of the room. The other let out a breath of air and stood up. The taller man followed suit. The pair smiled at each other. </p>
<p>“I can’t thank you enough, Roger.” John spoke, the sincerity in his eyes glistened in the light now pouring into the room from the absence of storm clouds. </p>
<p>“It’s quite alright, you would’ve done the same for me.” Roger promptly walked over to the coat rack. John trailed behind, grabbed his coat, and swiftly put it on before heading for the door. “Goodbye John, I will see you soon.” </p>
<p>“Goodbye Roger.” John grabbed the doorknob and was about to turn it, before he retracted his hand from the handle. He turned his head to look back at Roger, and the two stared at each other. Roger’s questioning stare was evident from his creased eyebrows, and consideration was painted across John’s face. Quickly, the taller man made up his mind and walked over to the other. John moved his hand to cup Roger’s cheek, which instantly made the latter’s face flare bright red. He slightly tilted the smaller man’s head and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Before Roger’s mind could catch up to the present time, John was out the door. The remaining man held a hand up to his cheek to graze over the area John had kissed. </p>
<p>Roger stood frozen for a few moments. He was stunned into peace before his mind slowly started up again. First, he felt panic. Not necessarily a bad or good panic, but a frazzled wave of shocked disbelief raddled around his brain before new thoughts formed. Slowly, the alarm in his head was quelled to a quieter volume so he could actually think coherent thoughts. John had kissed him. On the cheek. What did that mean? Roger did not want to take it the wrong way but his mind was dragging him to believe it meant reciprocation for his feelings. His feelings that he certainly did not have. </p>
<p>Believing he was overreacting, Roger tried to sweep this whole mental conversation out of his brain. Maybe he could try to write about something. It didn’t matter what as long as he was not just standing in front of the door like an idiot. </p>
<p>Roger forced himself out of his head and moved for the first time since the reverend had left. He walked in no particular way over to a desk he had tucked into the corner of the room. Picking up a paper and a quill, he sat to stare at the paper. Nothing came to mind except the knocking of his past encounter with John. So, Roger decided that studying the paper would be a good use of time. It was quite interesting. Despite his lame efforts to distract from the event, there was no way to avoid it. Roger’s thoughts bit at his brain until he couldn’t take it. He stood up from his chair, walked over to his couch, and unceremoniously fell onto it. He always knew accepting these forever pecking thoughts was inevitable. He just didn’t want to think about it. In truth, he knew he had feelings for John Witherspoon. He repeated that thought in his head until it became a monotonous drum beat. He had feelings for him, and he did want to kiss him. He wanted to run his hands through his hair and tell him he loved him. </p>
<p>Now that Roger would not run from his own fate, he had to own it. He had to let John know despite him probably already knowing, judging from his actions from earlier. </p>
<p>--------------------------------------------</p>
<p>The following day, the rain-soaked ground had dried and the sun was shining. Birds perched on tree branches and sang beautiful songs with the gentle padding of the nearby fountain’s water. In this peaceful scene, Roger strolled around, appearing to be taking in the tranquility of nature. In contrast to his calm presence, his mind was buzzing around. The man had declared to himself that he would tell John everything, but the implications of that action were now rushing to mind. His nerves whipped up strange scenes where Roger was publicly shamed or sternly reprimanded and he felt his hands shake with anxiety. </p>
<p>Earlier that day, Roger had seen John. The first installment of Congress that day had allowed Roger to fully endorse his daydreams and enjoy no longer repressing his thoughts. He was free to think whatever he wanted and he fully indulged that offer. Now, everything seemed less peachy . But, maybe John will have no desire to seek Roger out and he can live alone, fawning over the reverend until he goes home to Connecticut where he can completely forget about Congress. Slightly calming down from his high worries, Roger sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He listened to the soothing song of nature and started to wonder why he felt so scared about this free moment. It was not like John was actively seeking him out. When his eyes reopened, the source of his panic creeped into the edge of his vision. He had to blink in disbelief before he finally accepted that John was walking towards him and his fate was sealed. A vague idea of running in the other direction came into mind, but he pushed that plan away and smiled at the approaching man. He hoped the smile looked genuine and not forced. </p>
<p>“Hello.” Roger immediately began picking at what little he had said and he felt his hands begin to shake again. In turn, John waved and stood in front of the anxious man. They both stared at each other. </p>
<p>“It’s lovely out, isn’t it?” Roger nodded in response. John went on to tell some story about something that he had seen that day but Roger could not bring himself to listen. Anxious thoughts dreading the future clawed around his brain and fought with his thoughts that fawned over the man in front of him. His mind was overloading and he could not take all of these thoughts. Roger stood, drowning in his own brain, while the story continued. Once the smaller of the two realized that John had stopped speaking he stumbled back into reality, pushing his unruly thoughts back into their cage. </p>
<p>“Oh! Thank you again for helping me with the thunder yesterday.” John looked into Roger’s eyes with such sweet sincerity, it made him sick. The anxiety riddled man stiffly nodded, not quite able to get out of his head before answering. He felt his outward appearance begin to clam up and decided that he should do something even if he couldn’t bring himself to spill his truth yet. </p>
<p>“About that.” Roger started out but John actually looking at him made him want to run away. “I wanted to ask about the kiss.” He spoke a little fast but he managed to keep eye contact throughout. Red heat spread on the taller man’s face. </p>
<p>“I actually wanted to talk to you about that too.” John looked down and Roger could tell he was fidgeting with his sleeves by how shaky his voice was. A beat of silence occurred, the sounds of nature seeped back into the pair’s consciousness, which served as a sign to calm down. “Roger, I.” he paused, considering what he was about to say as if quickly checking if he had deduced his emotions right. Before speaking again, John looked up and stared straight into Roger’s eyes “I have feelings for you.” Silence. The birds chirped in the distance and the fountain water ran to make quiet white noise in the background. The two stared at one another, both wildly anxious. </p>
<p>“I.” Roger broke the silence, sure of what he wanted to say but anxious to come clean. “I have feelings for you too.” To move a step further, he glanced down and took hold of John’s hands, carefully, as if they were both made of glass. A mixture between surprise, happiness and relief splashed across John’s face and he squeezed Roger’s hands. </p>
<p>“Really?” The two shared a sweet and hopeful smile. </p>
<p>“Really.” As if to prove it, Roger raises their joined hands up and kisses the backs of John’s hands. Their hands lower and they stare into each other’s eyes. A long road is ahead of them but at this moment, everything is perfect. Not a single storm cloud could ruin it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I didn't expect to take this long to post this but I was a little sick for awhile. Have a nice day.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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